Current Affair INDIA:(2009 to 2011)

November 2011:

1.The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of prominent industrialist Gautam Singhania in Mumbai and in Delhi over alleged tax evasion. — Nov 03, Hindustan Times

2. The Kerala high court today said central and state governments cannot “wash their hands” off and directed the Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Petroleum to produce their balance sheets and quarterly reports before it in three weeks. Petrol price up by Rs 1.82 — Nov 04, Hindustan Times

3. Former president APJ Abdul Kalam today visited the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu and said the plant was totally safe and a “boon to the people”. — Nov 06, Hindustan Times

4. In a major setback for the Centre’s ambitious nuclear plant project, villagers protesting against the Kudankulam nuclear plant have refused to accept former president Kalam’s endorsement of the project. — Nov 07, Hindustan Times

5. Logjam over the Kudankulam nuclear plant continued today as talks between representatives of protesters and the central and state expert panels over the plant’s safety concerns failed to reach any conclusions despite APJ Kalam’s intervention, reports said. — Nov 08, Hindustan Times

6. A special trial court today acquitted 42 of 73 accused in Sardarpura massacre case in which 33 people were burnt to death on March 1, 2002 post Godhara communal riots in Gujarat.— Nov 09, Hindustan Times

7. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US president Barrack Obama are to meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit at Bali on November 18, the White House announced on Wednesday. — Nov 10, Hindustan Times

8. Raking up the issue of RSS-Team Anna “nexus”, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday alleged that Mohan Bhagwat, Anna Hazare and Govindacharya are “contradicting” one another over the issue. — Nov 11, Hindustan Times

9. Rajat Gupta, former McKinsey head and founder of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, pleaded not-guilty to the charges of insider trading that could put him in jail for life, if proven true. HT reports. — Nov 14, Hindustan Times

10. Only a division can solve the problems and remove the inherent imbalances in the state, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati said. — Nov 15, Hindustan Times

11. Issuing notice to CBI, Justice Shali also asked the probe agency to file a status report by December 1, the date on which the bail pleas of other five accused including Kanimozhi are also slated for hearing. — Nov 16, Hindustan Times

12. Team Anna today demanded that Citizen’s Charter, specifying a time limit on government departments for providing services, should be included in the Lokpal Bill as it will help the common people to get their work done. — Nov 17, Hindustan Times

13. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was so scared of a military coup after Osama bin Laden’s death that he was ready to create a “new security team” favourable to Americans and promised the US to hand over Pak-based 26/11 perpetrators including those from its intelligence agency to India. — Nov 18, Hindustan Times

14. Former telecom minister Sukhram was today awarded five years imprisonment by a Delhi court after being convicted of taking Rs three lakhs as bribe to give a lucrative contract to a private firm in 1996. — Nov 19, Hindustan Times

15. Pictures of Aishwarya Rai and her newborn baby girl have been doing the rounds on the internet. However, Ash’s father-in-law, megastar Amitabh Bachchan and her husband, Abhishek Bachchan have claimed the pictures to be fake. — Nov 20,

Hindustan Times

16. The 30-share benchmark BSE index and the 50-share Nifty both closed down 2.60% each at 15,946.10 points and 4,778.35 points respectively, their lowest close in more than six weeks, weighed by a plunging rupee, faltering domestic growth, sluggish policy and shaky global outlook. — Nov 21, Hindustan Times

17. t least seven people including two children were charred to death when two AC coaches of the Howrah-Dehradun express train caught fire early on Tuesday in Giridih district of Jharkhand, police said. “Seven people, including two children, died after two coaches of the Howrah-Dehradunexpress caught fire — Nov 22, Hindustan Times

18. India’s giant family-owned Tata conglomerate named Cyrus P Mistry as the successor on Wednesday to the group’s boss, 73-year-old local business icon Ratan Tata, who will retire in 2012. — Nov 23, Hindustan Times

19. A youth identified as Harvinder Singh on Thursday attacked agriculture minister Sharad Pawar at the NDMC centre in New Delhi. Singh slapped Pawar as he was walking after talking to reporters. — Nov 24, Hindustan Times

20. PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the government’s decision to allow foreign equity in retail was not taken in haste but after a careful thought — Nov 29,

timesofindia

21. PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the government’s decision to allow foreign equity in retail was not taken in haste but after a careful thought — Nov 29,

timesofindia

22. As he prepares to launch yet another anti-corruption agitation, Anna Hazare today opened a new front against government, attacking it for allowing FDI in retail sector which he said was not in the country’s interest. — Nov 30, Hindustan Times

October 2011:

Health Insurance portability came into force; INS Shakti commissioned. Rajasthan launch free medicine scheme. The draft national policy on Electronics, 2011 unveiled; India Switzerland inled

deal to exchange related info. Afghan President on India visit: signed strategic pact; Moody’s cut SBI ratings. World cheapest tablet ‘Akash’ at Rs 2276 launched. RBI eases norms on Small money transfers. The draft national policy on information Technology 2011 unveiled. Govt. simplifies law for removing DD, AIR heads. UP Chief Minister launch projects worth Rs 6,035 crore; Mumbai Indians win

CLT 20 title in Cricket. The draft National Telecom Policy 2011 unveiled; Eminent Ghazal singer Jagjit

Singh passed away. India ranked 67th in Global Hunger Index among 81 countries with worst

figures. J and K Interlocutors submitted their final report; PSLV launched four satellites. Union Cabinet Cleared digitization of cable TV services; Centre announced Rs

900-crore package for exporters. India announced $500 million line of credit for Mayan mar. IIL tourists broke Kashmir Valley’s 25-yr record. Ritu Kumar to represent India at UN’s maiden run of the world fashion week.

CBI said the release of the accused would hamper investigations into the transfer of Reliance Telecom shares in Swan Telecom to Mauritius-based Delphi.

Anti-cancer Drug Letrozole banned. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will travel across the Tin Bigha

Corridor through India on Wednesday linking two Bangladeshi enclaves Dahagram and Angarpota in Indian territory.

India first formula one circuit at Greater Noida (UP) unveiled. Taking a dig at Kiran Bedi over allegations that she charged her hosts full fare

on air tickets while availing discount, law minister Salman Khurshid today said unlike Team Anna he cannot pass “ex-parte” judgements on people.

CBI Court charged Raja, Kani, 15 others with criminal breach of trust. The Human Development Index in the country rose by 21%, says a report

while cautioning that health, nutrition and sanitation remained the key challenges for the country.

Simplified Russian Visa rules for Indians. A Delhi court today found prima facie evidence against all the 17 accused

including former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi and corporate honchos to frame charges against them in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case for varying roles.

South Africa ditched India, favouring rich nations on climate issue. Pakistan’s military forced an Indian Army helicopter to land for violating

Pakistani airspace on Sunday and detained four Indian Army officers, the army said.

India made a clean sweep against England (5-0); : RBI raised repo rate from 8.25 to 8.5 percent.

Days after 100-year-old Fauja Singh of Indian-origin became the oldest person to complete a marathon, a 102-year-old Dalit woman in Tamil Nadu has put on another display of centenarian vigour, winning a local body election.

India defeat in three Nation’s Hockey Tournament. Mukesh Ambani becomes richest Indian billionaire in Forbes Richest list. Renowned Hindi novelist Pt.shree Lal Shukla passed away. BCCI stands firm, rejects revised sports bill.

September 2011:

Indian September 2011: Justice Sen quit ahead of Lok Sabha action. Painter Jehangir Sabaval died on 2nd September. Center, ULFA and Assam Government signed peace pact. Producer-Director Jagmohan Mundhra died on 4th September.

Union Cabinet cleared land Acquisitions bill. Indian Bangladesh inked pact on demarcation of entire land boundary. Customs Bill passed by Rajya Sabha. Monsoon Session of parliament concluded. Indian lifters bagged four bronze at Asian meet. 58th National Film Awards presented. 51st National Open Athletic Championships began in Kolkata. BC Khanduri sworn in as CM of Uttarakhand. Indian Hockey team won the Asian Champions Trophy. Indian women squash player won California open title. Bollywood’s star lensmen Rajadhyaksha died on 13th September. Delhi United won maiden DSA title. Mahindra Aerospace made its maiden flight. RBI increased gift transfer limit to NRIs to $50,000. Government passed 12th Plan approach. RBI allows NRIs to hold Joint Accounts. Centre rolling out Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enabled

services in North-East. Jnanpith 2008 Award presented to Urdu poet Shaheryar. 6.8 magnitude quake rocks north-east. Kochi Tuskers axed from Indian Premier League. Jananpith 2009 Award to Hindi Author Amar Kant, 2010 Award to Kannada

litterateur Chandrasekhar Kambar announced. Interlocutors wrap up J&K mission, final report next month. 34th ISO General Assembly inaugurated in New Delhi. Year of Germany in India Begins. SC restored Tamil Nadu’s Meenakshi temple’s control to Math. Rajiv Gandhi International Prize for Tech in Education announced. Centre reconstitutes Reserve Bank of India Board. BJP leader L.K.Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni arrested in the cash-

for-vote scam. Calcutta HC Judgement: Tatas lose, Mamta wins in Singur Land Row. 1000 crore central aid for quake-hit Sikkim. Cabinet okayed Mines and Minerals ( Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011.

August 2011:

Month-long monsoon session of Parliament began. Centre agreed to a Rs.19000 Crore ballout package for West Bengal. The first-ever Kashmir Premier League (KPL) T-20 Chinar Cup-2011 ended. DV Sadananda Gowda sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka.

SC partially lifted mining ban in Bellary. Indian archers won three silver medals in the Archery World Cup in Ogden. N-E body sought national drink status for tea. Indian wrestlers won 49 medals in the commonwealth wrestling championship

in Melbourne. Aditya Mehta clinched the 78th National Snooker Championship title. Former TN Governor and political analyst PC Alexander died. Lok Sabha passed SBI Subsidiary Banks Bill. BrahMos Varian Block III supersonic cruise missile test-fired successfully. Indian cricket team lost the No. 1 Test rank to England. Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor died. PM Manmohan Singh addressed the nation on 65th Independence Day. New Indian Chief suspended over credit over for Paramount Air. N A K Browne has been takes charge as the 23rd chief of the Indian Air Force. Coal India Ltd. Dethroned Reliance Industries Ltd. as most valued firm. National Sports awards announced. All-party meeting in West Bengal decided to rename the state as

Paschimbanga. Stealth frigate Statpura commissioned into navy. Historian and Indologist Ram Sharan Sharma died. Leader Paes and Mahesh Bhupati won the doubles title at Cincinnati tennis

match. Government and Team Anna held talks to reach truce. Haryana lifted ceiling on non-farm land. Baichung Bhutia brought down the curtain on his international career. Fast attack warship INS Karuva inducted into Navy. K. Rosaiah appointed new Tamil Nadu Governor. Birla Corp suspended mining in Rajasthan. Indian Finished 8th in the WSF men’s world team squash championship held in

Germany. Juvenile Justice (amendment) Bill introduced in Lok Sabha. Sucheta 33 year old women from Pune became first Indian woman to cross

Gobi desert. Ronjan Sodhi has been ranked world No.1 in double trap shooting as per the

ISSF world rankings. HDFC bank has launched a service of accepting income tax payment through

ATMs. Gagan Narang Ace Indian shooter is set to get Khel Ratna. Prahaar missile was recently test-fired successfully at Chandipur, Orrisa. Rahul Dravid became 2nd highest run scorer in Test cricket surpassing Ricky

Ponting’s record. Former Supreme Court Judge Shivraj V.Patil has been appointed as Lokayukta

of Karnataka to succeed Santosh Hegde.

Shammi Kapoor bollywood actor passed away recently.

July 2011:

Delhi CM Sheila Dixit received the first Mercy Ravi Award for Woman of Substance from Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

Centre set 2012 deadline to seal Bangladesh border. Pradeep Kumar elected as the new CVC. TN chief minister reshuffled her cabinet. RBI allowed fresh loans to finance FCCBs. MPs and MLAs quit en masse in Andhra Pradesh. 25 more Telangana legislators resigned. Noted filmmaker Mani Kaul passed away. Mayookha Johny won 1st Gold for India at the Asian Athletics Championship. Cho-Lhamu lake in Sikkim declared highest lake in the country. VS Hegde appointed Antrix Corporation Chief. More than 30 dead and more 240 hurt as Kalak Mail derailed. Rs1543 crore deficit budget presented for Assam for 2011-12. Bharti, IBM inked 10 year deal for Africa. Serial blasts in Mumbai left 21 dead. Pradeep Kumar sworn in new CVC. PSLV-C17 put GSAT-12 inot orbit. Government lifted wheat export ban. Ambika Pande became the first Indian to win the Canadian U-18 ITF Jr world

ranking championship. Pacts singed for Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. RS Gujral Appointed as the new finance secretary. Himachal inked $95.16 mn loan agreement with ADB. Prahaar missile flight-tested successfully. Cabinet cleared $7.2 bn RIL-BP deal. India, Bangladesh revived border ‘haat’. President Patil began her two-nation tour to Korea and Mongolia. SC approved national-level medical exam. India inked tax treaty with Lithuania. Neelima Mishra and Harish Hande won Ramon Megsaysay Award 2011. Union Cabinet approved draft of Lokpal Bill. Dinesh Trivedi and Salman Khursheed are the new Union Railway Minister and

Law Minister respectively. The insurgent organization which recently declared unilateral, indefinite

ceasefire is ULFA.

Jun 2011:

India is setting up a special facility known as Gamma Ray Telescope in Hanle (Leh) which will help in unraveling the mysteries of normal and dark matter in the universe.

India’s Chetan Anand defeated Chiang Jiann of Malaysia to clinch the Mauritius Open Badminton Championship in Hyderabad recently.

The provision of free and compulsory education will be extended upto class X. A proposal to this effect was approved at a meeting of tile Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE)

The new ‘mother-child health care scheme launched on June 1, 2011 is a – The Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram

Indian American Sukanya Roy won the crown at the prestigious Spelling Bee Championship in Maryland U.S. on June 2, 2011 for correctly spelling the tongue twister ‘Cymotrichous’

Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra on June 1, 2011 took charge as the Finance Secretary in place of Sushama Nath.b Mr. Sunil Mitra is a 1975 batch IAS officer (West Bengal Cadre).

Lieutenant General H.L. Kakria in last week of May 2011 appointed took over as Director-General of the Armed Forces Medical Services.

Hyderabad has been chosen for hosting the prestigious 11th conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2012.

The Committee on Comprehensive Review of National Small Savings Fund has suggested 4% interest on -Post Office Savings Deposits

The Central Government on June 7, 2011 approved 16 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs. 923’55 crore.

Punjab defeated Mumbai in the final of Junior National Hockey Championship for undergo

The winner of the inaugural edition of indian Volley League (Volleyball) is a- Chennai Spikers

Water-jet-propelled Fast Attack Craft (FAC) INS Kabra-eight in a series of 10 Car Nicobar Class FACS designed and built by the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and engineers (GRSE) for the Navy, was commissioned at the naval base in Kochi.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh cleared the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) that will facilitate robust information sharing among law enforcement agencies to combat terror threats at home and abroad.

An Iron Age megalithic burial site dotted with cairn-circles has been discovered near Veeranam village at the foot of a chain of hills inTamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district.

May 2011:

Jharkand’s Premlata Agarwal, 45, became the oldest Indian to scale Mount Everest on May 20, A2011. Ms. Agrawal, supported by that Steel is also the first person form Jharkhand to go on an expedition to Mt. Everest

Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne has been appointed the next chief of Air Staff of India. He will assume office on retirement of Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik on July 31, 2011.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on his visit to Madhya Pradesh dedicated the world class 6 Million tones per annum Bina Refining to the nation in Bina (Madhya Pradesh) on may 20.2011. He said that the country would increase its refining capacity to 23-80 million by 2012.

Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri of Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai has been selected for the prestigious G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research.

Under the 58th National Film Awards adaminte Makan Abu- a Malayalm movie has been chosen as the best feature film. The Movie shows humanist values freeing matters of faith from the constrictions of narrow parochialism.

Salim Kumar for his role in Adaminte Makan Abu and Dhanush for his brilliant Performance in Aadukula have been selected best Actors under the 58th National Film Awards this year.

During his African visit to Africa in May 2011, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said India would off $5 billion for next three years under lines of credit to help Africa to achieve its development goals. The $ 5 billion line of credit represents an increase of $1.6 billion over the billion that remains unspent.

On 21, 2011 the 800- tonne Ariane 5 launcher carrying two communication satellites weighing over 9,000 kg in its nose fairing blasted off into space. India’s GSAT-8 the largest and heaviest satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation and its partners was one of the two co-passengers on the flight.

India on May 21, 2011 twice successfully test-fired the indigenously developed air-to-air Astra interceptor missile from Chandipur in Orissa. The Missile is envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds.

A Successful flight-test of Russia I UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle ) was conducted by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) a lab of Defiance Research and Development Organisation near Hosur (Karnataka) on May 21,2011

Aditya Sudarshan has been declared the winner of the Metro Plus Playwright Awards 2011 for his entry “The Green Room’ This prestigious award is instituted by the Hindu newspaper and is given for the best original unpublished and unperformed playscript in English.

Mamta Benerjee took over as the first woman Chief minister of West Bengal in May 2011 after her party Trinamool Congress in alliance with Indian National Congress secured absolute majority and ended the 34 year rule of mighty Left Front reducing them to a double them to double digit figure of 62 seats in the newly constituted Assembly.

Human Right Activist Binayak Sen has been made member of the Planning Commission’s Steering Committee on Health which will advise the panel on The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017). He will represent the Bilaspur based healthcare organization Jan Swasthya Shayog.

Famous Bollywood singer Shaan was on May 10, 2011 announced as the Tobacco Control Ambassador of India by the Union Ministry of Health And Family Welfare given his popularity and fan following among young age group people.

In order to build a capability based approach the Army’s Western Command Embarked on a simulated war game in the deserts of northern Rajasthan in May 2011. The exercise named ‘Vijayee Bhava’ (Blessed to win) is the first in series of Annual summer exercise that got underway at Suratgarh in Rajasthan with Indian Air Force supporting the drill

April 2011:

Rabobank got RBI nod for India operations. Team India won the Cricket World Cup after 28 years. World Cup celebration continue bio-fuel flight leader Safar named all over

nation. Delhi cabinet gave its nod to ban on plastic bags. India suspended food imports from Japan for 3 months. Union Cabinet approved Consulate General of India in Perth. The government decided that blanket ban on food Imports from Japan was not

required as items tested so far were not found contaminated from radiation leak.

Indian Premier League (IPL-4) got off in Chennai. Anirban Lahiri won the inaugural Panasonlc Open Golf title. SFI founder C Bhaskaran died. 44-deemed univs facing derecognition got reprive from Supreme Court. PM Singh reached China for BRICS summit. India, China’ agreed to resume defence exchanges.

Kanishtha Dhankhar crowned Femina Miss India World 2011. Alok Kumar won Asian Billiards Championship title. India,Kazakhstan Inked nuke,oil pacts. Jaipur’s last titular Maharaja Bhawanl Singh died. Orissa became first state to launch rural livelihood mission. Abhijit Gupta won the Dubai International Open Chess title. India, Japan signed pact on digital library- PSLV-CI6 placed 3 satellites in orbit. Congress won first civic polls in Gandhi nagar RBI granted relief of banks on NPAS. India-Pak panel okayed repatriation of prisoners. Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba died. Ex-chief of CWG Suresh Kalmadi arrested on charges of forgery. A special CBI Court sent ‘ Kalmadi and two others to 8-day custody. Indo-pak trade talks resumed after two years. 2G: PM Singh got clean chit from Public Accounts Committee. The winner of Dubai Open Chess Championship is – Abhijeet Gupta Recently PSLV-C16 put into space orbit – Three Setellites The Indian who recently won prestigious Indu Sharma Katha Samman is –

Vikas Kumar As per Time Manazine list, the most influential Indian is – Mahendra singh

Dhoni Saraswati Samman has been conferred on – S.L. Bhyrappa The person who has been appointed as Chairperson of Central Board of Film

Certification (CBFC) – Leela samson As per the provisional data of 2011 Census, India’s population stands at –

1,210,193,422 The percentage growth of India’s population in 2001-11 was recorded at –

17.6% The overall sex ratio nationwide has been recorded during 2001-11 Census at

– 940 females per 1000 males – Kerela The state which registered highest sex ratio during 2001-11 Census is- Kerala The literacy rate during census 2001-11 has been registered at – 74-04% The Indian state which has achieved first rank in harnessing solar energy is –

Rajasthan The Indian who has been chosen for South Korean Gwangju Award for human

rights for 2011 is – Binayak Sen As per recent data Planning Commission, Poverty rate in India has declined-

32% As per 2001-2011 census, the density of population in India is – 382 Persons

per square km The percentage of female literates in India as per 2011 Census provisional

data is – 65.46% to total population of women

As per the 2011 census provisional data the four states with highest population (in descending order) are – U.P.Maharashtra, Bihar and. West Bengal

Wisden’s Leading Cricketer for is – Sachin Tendulkar

March 2011:

India Current Affairs March, 2011 : Short Points 11 got death penalty, 20 life term for Godhra carnage. India, ASEAN set $70 bn trade target. Banking Laws Amendment Bill got cabinet nod. Lanco acquired Aussie coal mines, Griffin, for $760 million. India agreed to finance Ethiopian sugar sector revamp. Interceptor missile test fired successfully. – Monaco became the first public

sector firm to Introduce ESOPs. SC approved single MBBS entrance test across nation. India, Brazil inked air services agreement. Star Indian Post office announced launch of online portal ‘epost office’

(https://www.epostoffice.gov.in/) Essar, Inked $750m agreement to revive Zimbabwe Iran & Steel C0. N-capable missiles Dhanush and Prithvi-II successfully tested. India, Bangladesh decided to hold Wagah-style retreat at border. Foundation for Judicial Academy laid in Jodhpur. Prez Patiy cancelled appointment of PJ Thomas as CVC. Union cabinet approved GST Bill. India’s tallest (80 feet) statue of Lo rd Buddha unveiled in Sarnath. Government approved 9.5% interest on PF deposits. India abstained from UNSC vote on Libya no fly zone. Bollywood actor Navin Nischol passed away. Security forces seized armed from Maoist hide out in Midnapur. Saina Nehwal won Swiss Open Single’s final tennis trophy. Delhi Anti-sealing Bill passed In Rajya Sabha. SBI announced new code of conduct. – Shimla declared environmentally

sustainable city. Orissa (the alteration of named Bill and Constitution (113th) Amendment Bill

passed in Rajya Martha. Lok Sabha passed the Coinage Amendments Bill. Cash-strapped Air India got a breather. Navy nabbed 16 pirates off Lakshadweep. India invited to make huge investments in Africa. India breaks into the top 10 nations in Scientific Research Output.

Gujarat banned the sale distribution and reprinting of Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle with India.

Results of Census 2011 released: Puts India’s population at 1.21 billion.India Current Affairs January, 2011 : Descriptive Points

Noted Hindi writer Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari has been chosen for the prestigious Vyas Samman for his collection of poems ‘Phir Bhi Kuch Rah Jayega’. The Award is instituted by K. K. Birla Foundation.

The Government of India has proposed to nominate the name of Assam’s river island Majuli for inclusion in the cultural landscape category of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage list.

A Tamil Brahmi script on a pot rim reading ‘a mana’ meaning a Jaina has been found at Pattanam in Earnakulam district Kerala establishing that Jainism was prevalent on the West Coast at least from second century CE (Common Era).

Kiradech Aphibarnrat pipped Mohammad Siddikur Rahman to bag SAIL open title on March 25, 2011 in New Delhi.

A. S. Suresh Krishna of Andhra Pradesh defeated Ashutosh Singh of Delhi to take the title in National Jute Board-National grass-court Tennis tournament on March 5, 2011 in Kolkata while in women’s section Kyra Shroff beat Aishwazya Agrawal to take the crown.

India on March 6, 2011 fired an interceptor missile which intercepted an incoming enemy ballistic missile at an attitude of 16 km and pulverized it in a direct kill. While the hostile missile was launched at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Orissa, the Interceptor blasted off from Wheeler Island off the Orissa Coast.

North Zone beat West Zone to clinch Deodhar Trophy of Cricket on March 9, 2011 in Jaipur by five wickets.

Shahina K. K. the Thiruvananthapuram correspondent of Open magazine has been chosen for the Chameli Devi Jain Award 2010 for being outstanding woman media person.

India will test-fire the submarine launched version of of BrahMos Underwater test-firing the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile by year end as on March 12, 2011. Underwater weapon-delivery countries defence strength.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has appointed Mahashweta Devi as National Research Professor for a second term of five years from February 2011. She has been appointed to this post in recognition of her contribution as a writer and a social activist.

V. Kalidas-The Hindu’s consultant has been honoured with the Hall of Fame Award for 2011 for his contribution to the media industry. He was honoured by Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan in Chandigarh on March 17, 2011.

India’s exports breached the $ 200 billion mark in the first 11 months of the 2010-11. Exports jumped by 49.8% year-on-year during February to $ 23.6

billion taking the April-January 2010-11 figure to $ 208.2 billion-an increase of 31.4% over the year-ago period and past the yearly target of $ 200 billion.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was honoured with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and lndusirys’ top honour. The Decade of Global Achievement Honour for her accomplishments in Hindi cinema on March 25, 2011 in Mumbai.

According to the 2010 tiger census whose results were declared on March 28, 2011 there are approximately 1,706 of the big cats in the country which includes about 70 in the marches of the Sundarbans.

The Central Government on March 24, 2011 constituted the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) under the chairmanship of former justice B. N. Krishna to rewrite and harmonize financial sector legislations, rules and regulations so that the requirements of the country’s fast growing financial sector may be fulfilled.

The Government recently in March 2011 approved 14 proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) including that of Mauritius based Ghir Investments totalling Rs. 1,289.85 crone.

Jan 2011:

India Current Affairs January, 2011 : Short Points Curb on foreign tourists visiting North-East scrapped. India joined the UN Security council as non-permanent member. ADAG firm bought 26% stake in ICEX. India extended ban on milk products from China for a year. Gujjars signed pact with Rajasthan government. UGC cleared ban on animal dissections. India Lanka sign MOU to start ferry service. PM Manmohan Singh announced merging of OCI, PIO cards. India clinched T-20 against S. Africa in Durban. 1st edition of S. Asian winter games began in Dehradun. Govt. agreed to re-examine its decision to close 44 deemed to-be blacklisted

units. IndiGo signed $15.6bn aircraft deal to buy 180 Airbus A320s. Gujarat signed Mous worth One Lakh Crore for shipping industry. Over 55 reported killed in Sabrimala tragedy in Idukki. Rajasthan clinched maiden Ranji Trophy. Golfer Gaqanjeet Bhullar became the first Indian to win on the Challenge Tour. RBI tightened provisioning norms for non-banking financial companies. Major fire In Navi Mumbai IOC depot destroyed 50,000 litres of lubricant oil.

PM Manmohan Singh reshuffled his cabinet. Nationwide mobile number portability launched.

Naval warship INS Deepak Joined Navy’s western fleet. Criminal suit lodged against Karnataka’s CM B. S. Yeddyurappa. Music icon Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away. India Indonesia signed pacts worth $15 lbn. Nation celebrated 62nd Republic Day. India won Asian Juniors Golf Team title. Four more ministers inducted in Hooda Cabinet, Haryana.

India Current Affairs January, 2011 : Descriptive Points Kapila Vatsyayan, Homi Vyarwalla, A. Nageshwar Rao (all the three, Art),

parsaran Kesava Iyengar, L. C.Jain Akhlaq-ur-Rehman Kidwai, Vijay Kelkar, Montek Singh Ahluwalia (al1 Public Affairs), O. N. V. Kurup, Sitakant Mahapatra (both Literature and Education), Brajesh Mishra (Civil Services), Azim Premji (trade and industry and Palle Rama Rao (Science and Engineering) are the thirteen eminent personalities who have been honoured with Padma Vibhushan (India’s second highest civilian award) this year.

The Indian musical (music director) who has been nominated for Oscar Awards this year is A. R. Rahman Indian music maestro A. R. Rahman has been nominated for his music in Dannny Boy’s film ‘127 Hours’ in the categories of Best Song and Best Original Score trophy for Oscar Awards this year.

Petroleum’s A. Sharath Kamal beat R. Abhishek to clinch men’s title and K. Shamini beat Madhurika Palkar (PSPB) to clinch the women’s title in the Keventer 72nd senior National and inter-state table tennis tournament in Kolkata on January 23, 2011.

IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Director-General Yukiya Amano honoured Anil Kakodkar (the former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India) with the Indian Nuclear Society’s Homi Bhabha lifetime. Achievement Award for the year 2009 on the occasion of the 21st Annual Conference of Indian Nuclear Society on Impact of Radiation Technology on human health and environment at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre irk Mumbai on January 17, 2011.

Rajasthan created history for the first time in 77 years when they defeated Baroda in the final of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament on the basis of first innings lead in Vadodara on January 15, 2011.

Prime Minuter Dr. Manmohan Singh recently launched ‘* Mobile Number Portabillty Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on January 20, 2011 launched nation-wide Mobile Number Portability (MNP) that allows users to swish operators/service providers without losing or changing their phone numbers.

The general council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi elected two eminent personalities from the field of performing arts-Girija Devi and Nataraj Ramakrishna-Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna) at its meeting’ held on January 19, 2011 in New Delhi.

Indian Meteorological Department has declared that 2010 was the warmest year since 1901. According to the department, the annual mean temperature averaged over the country as a whole was 25.8023 degrees Celsius in 2010.

Ethiopia’s Girima Assefa beat Botor Segaye Wolde (Ethiopia) in men’s section to emerge winner at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon while Koren Yal of Ethiopia clinched women title by defeating Merima Mohammed of Ethiopia on January 16, 2011 in Mumbai.

In a step to alleviate plight of millions of people affected by the 2008 Kosi flood, the Bihar government on January 12, 2011 signed a $ 220 million agreement with the World Bank. The government will chip in with $ 39 million for the $ 259 million Bihar Kosi Flood Recovery Project aimed at supporting states recovery efforts.

Justice B. Srikrishna Committee recently submitted its report on Telangana issue suggesting six options to resolve the Telangana statehood issue saying united Andhra Pradesh is most workable solution.

The Indian team won the Asian Junior Golf team Championship of Golf on January 27, 2011 in Kuala Lumper India won the tournament and the gold medal on countback.

Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the chief guest on this years Republic Day. During his visit to India, a number of agreements/MoUs were signed between India and Indonesia on combating terror, curbing money launderings and exchange of information on criminal activity.

December2010:

Union Cabinet approved 2-year tenure for foreign secretary. New version of BrahMos test- fired successfully. SC cleared Mayawati memorial in Noida. French Prez Sarkozy arrived on a four-day visit to India. Kochi team cleared for 2011 IPL. India, France signed $20 bn deals. Govt approved setting up of 20 new IIIts. India France inked two pacts on nuclear safety. PM Singh left for 4-day tour of Belgium and Germany. Upgraded Agni-2 missile failed test. India signed four-nation gas pipeline deal. Soumyajit Ghosh became the first Indian to clinch a medal in the World Junior

TT Championship. Saina Nehwal won Hong Kong Open Badminton Super Series. SC cleared single exam for all MBBS courses. Nation’s first-ever water and waste-water gallery’ Inaugurated in Delhi. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao arrived on a three-day visit. India, China signed six pacts.

Maoists gunned down 7 Forward Bloc workers in Purlia in West Bengal Rs. 900 Cr package announced for Orissa’s rain-hit farmers. Sachin Tendulkar became the first-batsman to notch up 50 Test hundreds. Technical glitch halted G SAT- 5P launch Railways migrated to 5-diglt number system. India, Russia signed 29 pacts. Two Prithvi – II missiles successfully flight-tested. RBI capped home loan at 80 % Indian women cIinched SAFF football title. Rs 600 cr relief package for Maharashtra announced farmers. GSLV launch failed: exploded mid-air within seconds of take-off. PSB won all India Liberals Cup Hockey tournament. Nation’s first seaplane Jalhans, made its debut; took off to Andamans. Andhra Pradesh requested PM to enhance relief for calamity-hit farmers. Sarjeev (SK) Tripathi-who was hitherto the head of the Aviation Research

Centre (ARC), has been appointed the Chief of research and Analysis Wing-India’s external intelligence agency.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been chosen as the CNN-IBN Indian of the year for changing the vocabulary of politics, putting development on centre stage and triggering hope amongst millions.

Parimarjan begs beat G.N. Gopal to clinch the 48th National Premier Chess Championship on December 22, 2010 in New Delhi.

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev had a very significant visit to India in December 2010 during which 30 agreements were between India and Russia.

The troops of India and Mongolia held joint military exercise with two-week drill in counter insurgency ending in Belgaum on December 19, 2010. The exercise was named ‘Nomadic Elephant’.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)-a premier medical association in America representing 60,000 doctors is holding its 4th Indo-us Healthcare Summit in January 2011.

Tamil Nadu beat Kerala to clinch the 59th Senior national Volleyball Championship (men’s section) while Railway also defeated Kerala to bag women’s title of the 59th Senior National Volleyball Championship held in Chennai in December 2010.

Top seeded Rumbaka Hayom Dionysius of Indonesia beat Avihingsanon Suppanayu of Thailand to clinch men’s singles title while in women’s singles final Hui Zhou of China beat fifth seeded Fransiska Ratnasari to bag the title in the Indian Open Grand Prix badminton championship held in Hyderabad in December 2010.

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal registered a scintillating three game victory over Shixian Wang of China to clinch the title at the Hong Kong Open in Wanchai on December 12, 2010.

India signed five agreements with France in the nuclear field as announced on December 6, 2010 by External Affairs Ministry while two pacts on nuclear safety with the same were also signed on the same date.

In its Mid Year Analysis 2010-2011 tabled in Parliament on December 7, 2010 by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee it is estimated that growth in 2010-11 will be 8.75 plus or minus 0.35 per cent that is nearly about 9%

Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg registered a splendid victory to clinch the $ 1.25 million Hero Honda Indian Open golf title on December 5, 2010 in New Delhi while South Korea’s Baek Seuk-Hyun finished second in the tournament.

As per the latest data released by National Aids Control Organization Manipur continues to top the list with an adult prevalence of 1.40 per cent followed by Andhra Pradesh (0.90%) Mizoram at (0.81 per cent) and Nagaland at (0.78 per cent).

As per recently released data released by NACO it is estimated that India had approximately 1.2 lakh new HIV infections in 2009 as against 2.7 lakh in 2000.

India’s supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully flight-tested on December integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Orissa.

Indian Army began its biggest operation in November-December 2010 to dispose of scrap admonitions (mortar bombs projectiles grenades rockets etc.) in Shekowal and Khelwal village near Ludhiana. The operation was named Operation Saiyam (patience) which aims at destroying scraps imported between 1999 and 2004.

Saikat Datta of the Outlook has been given the Best RTI Journalist Award for using the Right to Information Act to expose a Rs. 2,500 chore scam in the export of rice.

November 2010:

1. The construction work of 700 MWe Pressured Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) at Kakrapar began in November 2010. The 700 MWe units are the country’s biggest indigenous reactors in which natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as both moderate and coolant is used.2. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya clinched the men’s title while the 2008 winner Aselefech Mergia won in the women’s elite category at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on November 21, 2010 in Delhi.3. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has launched a special scheme Sabla or the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls as a pilot project in 200 most backward districts. The scheme would address the nutritional and special training aspects of girls between the age of 11-18 years.

4. Weekly magazine ‘Tehelka’ has been seceded for the IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism 2010 for outstanding journalistic work.5. As per a Pneumonia Report Card released by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) on behalf of the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia 3,70,000 or nearly one Quarter of deaths from Pneumonia occur in India alone.6. The UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organization) has recently inscribed three Indian performing-art forms, the Mudiyetu (a ritual theatre of Kerala), the Chhau dance (a tradition from eastern India) and the Kalbelia (folk songs and dances of Rajasthan) in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity7. The Strategic Forces Command of the Army on November 25, 2010 tested the surface-to-surface missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Wheeler Island off Damra village on the Orissa Coast.8. Chirag United defeated JCT on November 7, 2010 to bag the Durand Cup (football) in New Delhi. It was Chirag United’s most precious title.9. During US President Obama’s visit to India, India signed with USA deals worth – $ 10 billion 9 During US President Barack Obama’s visit to India, deals worth $ 10 billion (nearly Rs. 44,000 core) were reached in first week of November 2010 which will create 50,000 jobs in the US.10. Manu Joseph has bagged the Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010 for his debut novel ‘Serious men’.11. Andhra Pradesh Assembly speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy was sworn in as the new Chief Minister on November 25, 2010 after K. Rosaiah resigned citing health reasons.12. Indira Gandhi-The world’s longest serving woman Prime Minister has been ranked by the Time Magazine as the 9th most powerful woman of the past century while another Indian woman Mother Teresa has been ranked 22nd most powerful woman of the past (20th) century of the world by the magazine.13. Additional Solicitor General and Delhi High Court Bar Association President A. S. Chandhiok has been honoured with the Sikh of the year 2010 award for his outstanding achievement in the legal field and working for betterment of society.14. India won 14 gold medals, 17 silver medals and 33 bronze medals (total 64 medals) at 16th Asiad in Guangzhou, China in November 2010.

October 2010:

Indian Current Affairs and Events in the month of October, 2010:1. Recently Mozambique President Armando Emilio Guebuza visited India. During his visit India signed three agreements besides agreeing upon a credit line of $ 500 million for infrastructure projects in Mozambique.

2. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil presented the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration Academia and Management to Aruna Roy on October 1, 2010. Aruna Roy is a social and political activist.3. Indian Academy of Cerebral Palsy, an academic body of doctors and rehabilitation professionals from across the country decided to observe October 3, as the National Cerebral Palsy Day to highlight the growing cerebral palsy-a brain disorder which affects mostly children becoming the commonest cause of childhood disability in India.4. K.Vijay Kumar who was Director of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy. Hyderabad has been appointed the new Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquartered in New Delhi.5. Sachin Tendulkar emerged winner at the LG ICC (International Cricket Council) Award on October 6, 2010 after winning the Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Year Award and LG Peoples’ Choice Award for the year 2010.6. Eminent writer, historian and columnist Khushwant Singh has been conferred the Sahitya Akademi Fellow- ship-an honour reserved for the immortals of literature.7. Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) the world’s largest diamond bourse was inaugurated on October 17, 2010 in Mumbai with the primary objective of establishing necessary infrastructure facilities for promotion of export of diamonds.8. With Badminton Star Saina Nehwal snatching a three-game victory over Malaysia’s Mew Choo Wong India took second position by grabbing 38 gold medals (in total 101 medals) ahead of England which got 37 gold medals.9. In a recent report ‘Commonwealth or Common Hunger’ prepared by an NGO ‘Save the Children’. India among the commonwealth Nations is on the top in underweight children with seven million under five severely malnourished.10. Indradhanush-a joint exercise by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom was organised in October 2010 at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district.11. Rustom I – India’s medium altitude and long endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by the Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Establishment was successfully test-flown in Bangalore on October 16, 2010.12. In a report by the National AIDS Control Programme (NACO) on its ”Response to the HIV Epidemic in India”, it has been revealed that the people living with HIV have declined from 2.73 million to 2.27 million between 2002 and 2008. The HIV prevalence has declined from 0.45% in 2002 to 0.29% in 2008.

September 2010:

The University of Alberta based in Edmonton, Canada will honor an Indian agriculture scientist with an honorary doctorate to recognize his contribution to food security in the world. M. S. Swaminathan of that Indian Scientist.

India country is listed as the third most powerful country in the world after USA and China according to “Global Governance 2025″ jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of USA and the European Union’s Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).

Sushil Kumar became the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal in the World Wrestling Championship in Moscow by beating Russia’s Gogaev Alan in the final match.

The ace Indian shooter Ronjan Sodhi won a Gold medal in the final of Double Trap event at World Cup in Izmir, Turkey.

Shooter Gagan Narang Indian won four gold medals in Commonwealth Games 2010.

Sachin Tendulkar (403) runs in 2 test match is Man of the Series between India – Australia cricket Series recently held in India.

54 many member states are there in Commonwealth Nations. Nandita Devidayal is the author of recently published book “Aftertaste”. Bijoy Krishna Handique is the Union Minister of Mines. TC Mathew has been appointed as the Convener for South Zone by the Board

of Control for Cricket in India. Kaushik Basu, C. Rangrajan is the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Counsil

is the Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister. Christopher Nolan is director of the recently released famous hollywood movie

“Inception”. Bollywood Super Star Shahrukh Khan is appointed as Brand Ambassador of

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd, India’s leading paint manufacturer. T K Viswanathan has been appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. President Pratibha Patil will give a National Award to the Headmaster of a

madarsa (Orgram Chatuspalli High Madarasa) in West Bengal’s Bardhaman district. The madarsa has distinguished itself in being secular. Anwar Hossain is the headmaster of this Madarsa.

Commonwealth Games are going to be held in New Delhi from this October 2010. In 1930 year, the first commonwealth games took place.

Elephant animal will soon be declared a national heritage animal of India in order to step up measures for its protection.

Rajiv Dube has been elected as the chairman of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

Veteran playback singer and Indian classical musician KJ Yesudas has been chosen for the prestigious Sree Chithira Thirunal Award for 2010.

“Your Place in the Sky” is the slogan of Air India of the following Airline Company.

Indian athlete Tintu Luka smashed Shiny Wilson’s 15-year-old national record en route to fifth place in the 800 metres at the Continental Cup athletics meet in Split, Croatia.

Spanish Ferrari driver and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix (Formula One title)..

Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom won the World Boxing Championship title in Bridgetown beating Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6 in the final.

Shooter – Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang won first gold medal for India in Commonwealth Games 2010.

Sachin Tendulkar is the first sportsperson who was conferred an Indian Air Force (IAF) Honorary Group Captain.

Inderjit Singh Reyat has been convicted of committing perjury in the June 1985 bombing of the Air India Kanishka flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi in which all 329 people on board were killed.

England all-rounder Andrew Flint off announced his retirement from all forms of cricket recently after years of battling injury..

Pratibha Patil, President of India, recently laid the foundation for the Asian Textiles Museum in a country in Southeast Asia. Cambodia is that country.

Prime Minister of Somalia Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke announced his resignation on September 21, 2010 after a weeks-long dispute with President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

An American company, which had launched designer shoes carrying pictures of Hindu deities recently apologised to the Hindu community and immediately withdrew shoes from the market. The Converse shoe company of that shoe company.

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister has been honoured with the 2010 World Statesman Award by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, an interfaith coalition which promotes mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.

Famous Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala O.N.V.Kurup won Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007.

Rajya Sabha MP and a well-known developmental economist Arjun Kumar Sengupta served as Indian ambassador to Belgium and the European Union in the early 1990s, died recently at the age of 73.

The first Indian-origin provincial minister in Canada, Sindi Hawkins (earlier Satinder Kaur Ahluwalia) died in Calgary on September 21, 2010 after a prolonged battle with leukemia.

Name of the three Indian-Americans Farooq Kathwari, Amardeep Singh and Sunil Puri are appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The name is cruise missile BrahMos was successfully test-fired recently as part of trials by the Indian Army from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast.

One of the most successful woman weightlifters in India Sanamacha Chanu has tested positive a second time in the doping test during the trials for the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Indian nuclear scientist and a chemical engineer, Homi N. Sethna remained the head of Atomic Energy Commission of India during India’s first nuclear test in Pokhran in 1974 died recently at the age of 86.

South Indian actor Murali died at Chennai on 8th September 2010 due to massive heart attack.

Solar Probe Plus With a proposed launch date of 2018, Solar Probe Plus will carry a variety of scientific instruments to measure the solar wind and the Sun’s magnetic field. The space craft will also sport a new carbon-composite heat shield capable of withstanding over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The new shield will protect the probe from both heat and radiation as it makes the closest-ever approach to our Sun.

Vivek Nair is named as the Chairman of Hotel Leela Venture Ltd, an Indian hotel company based in Mumbai.

August 2010:

Sachin Tendulkar Indian Cricketer was conferred with the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) honorary rank of group captain on 3rd September 2010. Ranjana Sonawane of Tembhli village becomes first Indian to get UID number Dr. J. S. Sharma is the present Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI. Alan Isaac is nominated as the ICC (International Cricket Council) Vice-President for the period 2010-12. Sachin Tendulkar became the most-capped Test cricketer in the world after taking field for his 169th match. Chief information commissioner (CIC) of India Wajahat Habibullah has been appointed as a member of World Bank’s access to information appeals board as on July 1, 2010. Pooja Dhand, Wrestler won the first medal for India in the Youth Olympics by winning silver in the women’s 60kg freestyle. The Commonwealth Games -2010 A.R.Rahman song “’Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto” is composed by. S. Radhakrishnan is the chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), India’s second largest state refiner. Renowned Kannada writer and critic Dr U.R. Ananthamurthy has been appointed the Honorary Chair of ‘Tagore Chair in Indian Literature’ at IGNOU. An Indian nuclear scientist and a chemical engineer, Homi Nusserwanji Sethna died recently on September 5, 2010. Allahabad High Court in India gives its verdict on the Ayodhya title suits, amid fears that the ruling could spark unrest. They decide to split the site into three portions between Hindus and Muslims. Arjun Atwal becomes the first Indian golfer to clinch a US PGA Tour title as he lifted the Wyndham Championship trophy.

The Fake IPL Player Anupam Mukerji blog posts hit the headlines during the Indian Premier League’s second season in 2009, revealed his identity on the Times Now news channel recently.

July 2010:

P.T. Usha has been appointed the chairperson to head the committee that has been constituted to select the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dhyanchand awards apart from Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar for 2010.

The famous Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra has been appointed as National Ambassador of UNICEF.

Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) recently suspended Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach after Sydney Olympic bronze medalist Karnam Malleswari alleged sexual harassment by him on junior lifters. Ramesh Malhotra of that coach.

Mr. Sanjay Jain has been appointed as CEO of Tulip Telecom Ltd. Saina Nehwal won Rajiv Gandhi khel Ratan award. V.S. Sampath was appointed as Election Commissioner. Virender Sehwag become the sixth Indian batsman to score 7000 Test runs. Epic Browser was the world’s only antivirus browser. Usain Bolt the Jamaican triple Olympic champion who is going to retire on

2016 Olympics. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the cricketer recently got married on July 4, 2010

with his childhood girlfriend. Ravi Baswani famous Hindi actor who died with heart attack on July 28, 2010 Batting star Sachin Tendulkar is the Cricketer decided and wants to have his

blood used on a page of his autobiography to be released in February next year (Feb 2011).

S Y Quraishi takes charge as Chief Eelection Commissioner on July 30, 2010. New Rupee Symbol of India or Indian Rupee Symbol designed by IIT post-

graduate D Uday Kumar. July 15, 2010 Indian Rupee symbol has been revealed by Cabinet on. Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 new model launched at Rs 3 lakh on August 4, 2010. Interceptor is the missile that India successfully test-fired on July 26, 2010 . Diamond merchant Manoj Punamia was accused in Koda scam. Ed Thomas’s family recieved Arthur Ashe ESPY Courage Award in 2010. YS Rajeshekar Reddy birth anniversary is on July 8. Thomas MUELLER is the winner of the Best Young Player Award award in fifa

2010. Andres INIESTA has been elected as Man of the Match in Fifa World Cup 2010. Iker CASILLAS is the winner of the adidas Golden Glove award in Fifa World

Cup 2010. Thomas MUELLER is the winner of the adidas Golden Shoe award in Fifa World

Cup 2010.

Diego FORLAN is the winner of the adidas Golden Ball award in 2010. Madhuri Gupta was chargsheeted on July 20, 2010 for passing secret info to

ISI. Indian-origin Professor of Linguistics at the University of Oxford Prof. Aditi

Lahiri has been elected as Fellow of the British Academy, the national academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Sunil Ekka is the Former India hockey star attacked umpire. Sanjay Dhawan has been appointed as CEO of Symphony Service Corporation. 28th Number is the current number of world heritage sites in India as of

August 2010. Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is the Congress MP high command warning resumed

his controversial ‘Odarpu yatra’ in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh on July 8, 2010.

Face book social networking website officially announced that it had surpassed 500 million users around the world.

Indian-American Nisha Desai Biswal is appointed as assistant administrator for Asia in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Madhya Pradesh’s Health Minister Anoop Mishra resigned recently after being charged with the allegations that some of his close relatives were involved in the killing of a youth over a land dispute near his home town Gwalior.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh two state decided to dismantle bunkers set up by their police forces on either side of the border between them as a confidence building measure to resolve a violent boundary row.

Sheila Dixit has been received the Lokmanya Tilak Award in 2010. United Nations Court recently ordered retrial of former Prime Minister of

Kosovo on murder and torture charges related to the country’s 1998-99 war with Serbia. Ramush Haradinaj of that former Prime Minister.

Recently, Sajjan Kumar was the politician charged in anti-Sikh riots case. Gita Gopinath is the first Indian-origin woman professor in the institution’s

history. Maria Rebello became the first Indian woman referee to officiate in men’s

football match. Rudi Koertzen- Rudi is 61 years old and started officiating in international

cricket from 1992. His first Test and ODI was against India in 1992. Koertzen went on to umpire in 106 Tests, and a record of 209 ODIs and 14 Twenty20 internationals.

Arjun Atwal Becomes the first Indian to win on the U.S. PGA Tour. Ratan Tata has been selected ‘Businessman of the decade. 145 including 101 in the group stage goals are scored in the World Cup

Football-2010. CWG OC terminates Darbari’s services: Acting on the persistent plea of the

sports ministry, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on Monday

terminated the services of its tainted Joint Director General TS Darbari in the wake of the corruption scandal that has rocked the event.

TDP- TDP bandh was made to protest the arrest of party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who began a hunger strike against Maharashtra stopping his visit to the Babhli barrage site.

Pearl spot, a costly fish variety known for its unique taste is locally known as “Karimeen” This is the biggest spy swap since the Cold War.

Jun 2010:

Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal won the second Super Series title of her career by winning the Singapore Open with a straight-game triumph over qualifier Tzu Ying Tai (China) in the finals.

Syed Haider Raza Indian origin painter’s painting named “Saurashtra” on 10th June, 2010 obtained a record amount of USD 3,486,965 at the famous auction house Christie’s in London, United Kingdom.

Saina Nehwal (India) won the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Grand Prix badminton tournament held in India beating Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia in the final.

Ans. Dr. E. Sreedharan is the Managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation or DMRC.

Name the first Indian women Gita Gopinath have been named as full professor at Harward University.

Indian origin doctor held guilty of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm on patients at an Australian hospital Jayant Patel was sentenced to seven years in prison

Khushboo is popular South Indian actress who is willing to join DMK Party. Mandira Bedi Indian celebrity has created controversy recently by sporting a

Ek Onkar (God is one) tattoo on her nape. The tatto has been opposed by Sikh community leaders in India

The government declared an organization which is believed to be a shadow outfit of banned “Students Islamic Movement of India” and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba as a terrorist organization on June 4, 2010. Indian Mujahideen is that organization.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar Indian cricketer honored with rank of Honorary Group by Indian Air Force (IAF).

Ashwani Kumar (since August 2, 2008) is Current director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Ashok Kumar Balyan is appointed as new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Petronet LNG, the nation’s largest liquefied natural gas importer

Michael Perschke has been appointed as Head of Audi India (car) effective July 1st, 2010.

France’s most prestigious newspaper Le Monde is likely to put on sale its group operations, which include the newspaper, its website and its television listings.

K.G. Balakrishnan, former chief justice of India has been appointed as chairman of National Human Rights Commission

Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe) won the Man of the series award in the triangular series held in Zimbabwe (India-Zimbabwe-Sri Lanka

Chairman of Railway Recruitment Board, Mumbai S. N. Sharma was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation in Hyderabad in connection with a multi-crore Railway Recruitment Board scam.

Despite voices of protest in India, a set of 12 paintings by an Indian Nobel laureate, sold off for a whopping 1.6 million pounds at an auction house in London recently. Rabindranath Tagore of that Nobel laureate.

India country decided to introduce a Mother Teresa commemorative coin to mark the nun’s birth centenary in August, 2010.

May 2010:

Atul Khare of the veteran Indian diplomat who has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General for UN’s Peacekeeping Operations.

The Indian Company Videocon Industries Ltd. has been barred from doing any business with World Bank for violating “procurement guidelines”, for a period of three years, beginning January 11, 2010.

Suresh Raina is named as Captain of the Indian Cricket Team on the tour to Zimbabwe from May 28 for the tri series involving Sri Lanka.

Justice Dipak Misra is the new Chief Justice of Delhi High Court. Gita Gopinath is the third woman ever and the first Indian after Nobel laureate

Amartya Sen to become a tenured professor at Harvard University’s high-brow economics department.

Veteran Indian film director Mani Ratnam is to be honored with the Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘Glory to the Filmmaker’ award at the 67th Venice International Film Festival to be held in September, 2010.

Top Indian American attorney Neal Katyal ascended to the post of acting solicitor general May 17, as Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan vacated the post.

India and South Korea countries were named joint champions of the 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after the final was abandoned because of heavy rain in northern Malaysia.

Somdev Devvarman becomes the first male Indian Player in 13 years to qualify for the main draw at French Open Tennis-2010.

The leader of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta group in Jerusalem, noted for serving as Minister for Jewish Affairs in Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian government Moshe Hirsch died on May 2, 2010, aged 86.

Dr Nitin Nohria Indian-born business administration scholar who is set to become the tenth Dean of Harvard Business School (HBS).

Inter Milan football club won the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the final.

April 2010:

Air Marshal Ajay Shriniwas Karnik is appointed as the director general of inspection and safety wing of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Sania Mirza is appointed as brand ambassador for the ‘Mega Tennis Event’ organized by All India Tennis Association (AITA) which is aimed at the development of sport in the country.

Major General C.S. Nair has been appointed as the 14th Judge Advocate General JAG of the Indian Army.

Government of India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor resigned recently over allegations of corruption in winning a cricket league franchise (IPL Kochi team).

A prominent Indian hotelier Joginder Sangar has been presented the Community Award in recognition of his outstanding philanthropic work in the UK.

Indian-origin woman Kamla Persad-Bissessar has became the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Trinidad and Tobago parliament, ousting former premier Basdeo Panday from the post.

The president of Medical Council of India (MCI) Dr. Ketan Desai was arrested by CBI for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs two crore to grant recognition to a medical college in Punjab.

Delhi city of India will host the 12th edition of South Asian Games (SAF Games) in 2012.

Indian diplomat and second secretary with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad Madhuri Gupta has been arrested after her alleged involvement was found in passing sensitive Indian government information to the Pakistan based Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI).

Stempeucel CLI of India’s first stem cell based product developed by Stempeutics Research Pvt. Ltd., a group company of Manipal Education & Medical Group.

Eminent economist, Dr.K.N.Raj was part of the team that chalked out the first five-year plan of India, died at the age of 85.

Malayalam cinema’s popular lyricist Gireesh Puthenchery has won the prestigious Kerala State Award for the best lyricist seven times and had written lyrics for about 400 films died recently at the age of 49.

The Supreme Court of India recently dismissed all cases registered against South Indian film actress and activist of her alleged remarks on pre-marital sex. Khusboo of that actress.

INDIA has recently signed a civilian nuclear agreement with a country in New Delhi, similar to one it had signed earlier with seven other countries such as the US, France and Russia. Britain is that country.

T.M. Bhasin is appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank.

India’s premier international airline, Jet Airways recently announced that it will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg from April 14,2010.

Palakkad district in Kerala is all set to be declared the first fully electrified district in India.

March 2010:

Novak Djokovic won the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships beating Mikhail Youzhny (7-5, 5-7, 6-3) in the final.

Indian American Amy K. Singh is appointed by Obama Administration to serve on the US President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the prestigious John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts.

Xynthia of the winter storm that badly ruined the western coast of Europe on 28th February, 2010, battering France and four other countries and killing more than 50 people.

Coach of Ivory Coast Vahid Halilhodzic was sacked from his job following their poor showing at this year’s African Nations Cup.

An Indian-American senior executive Sanjay Gupta has been chosen by the World Economic Forum for its 2010 class of Young Global Leaders.

A vast settlement surrounded by a fortified structure believed to be about 4,500 years old and belonging to the Harappan civilisation has been excavated at a village in Kutch district of Gujarat. Shikarpur is that village.

Kathryn Bigelow (Film: The Hurt Locker) became the first female to win a Best Director Oscar award.

Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja has been suspended for the third edition of Indian Premiere League as he was bargaining for more salary from the franchisees, without getting a clearance from his franchise e Rajasthan Royals for this season.

Legendary painter M F Husain surrendered his Indian passport on March 7 to the Indian Embassy in Doha.

Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the most influential person in Indian sports in the annual Sports Illustrated Power list.

Former India captain and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at the ICC headquarters in Dubai.

Pravinchandra V. Gandhi- He was chairman emeritus of the Saurashtra Trust, which publishes the Janmabhoomi group of newspapers and magazines.

Sachin Tendulkar.cricketer who has been named the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

India country finished the 8th position in the recently concluded Hockey World Cup -2010.

Sachin Tendulkar cricket Player’s autographed ticket to watch IPL action on the big screens of theatres across the country was auctioned and fetched Rs 11 lakh.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime minister, India has been declared World Statesman of the year 2010 by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

Professor Shankar Balasubramanian has been named as the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) Innovator of the Year, winning £10,000 in recognition of his work on Solexa sequencing, the high speed genome sequencing technology that is revolutionising bioscience.

Prithvi-II’ and ‘Dhanush’of India’s indigenously developed ballistic missiles which are successfully test-fired on 27-03-2010 from different locations off the Orissa coast, adding more firepower to the armed forces of India.

Sonia Gandhi, Congress president is appointed as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC).

BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile – of the supersonic anti-ship cruise missile which has been successfully test-fired by the Indian Navy on March 21, 2010.

Vishwast’ of Indian Coast Guard Ship, the first of the new generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) which was commissioned by AK Antony, Defence Minister on March 17,2010.

India country claimed overall title in the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championships held in Delhi.

Mumbai Indian City host “FICCI Frames-2010”, a three-day mega media and entertainment industry event which is inaugurated by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on March 16, 2010.

M A Yousuf Ali – is the only Indian who figured in the list of the most influential outside the ruling families in the UAE, published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Doha resident and dedicated bird photographer Dileep Kumar has scored a major achievement – with a photo taken in Qatar recently being chosen as among the top five out of 39,387 entries in BirdGuide’s online “Photo of the Year 2009”.

John Howard is set to become president of the International Cricket Council in 2012.

Carlos Slim Helu- (Photo courtesy AP)He beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for the top spot on Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires, becoming the first person from outside the U.S. to lead the rankings in 16 years. Indians Mukesh Ambani (4th spot) and Lakshmi Mittal (5th spot) figured in that list.

Laila Ghannam became the first ever Palestinian woman, who takes the governor’s post in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) which was established in 1994.

Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and Mr.Kodikunnil Suresh- Santosh Bagrodia is the new Secretary of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) in the Rajya Sabha.

Feb 2010:

Eminent economist, Dr.K.N.Raj was part of the team that chalked out the first five-year plan of India, died at the age of 85.

Indian businessman Sanjiv Mehta bought the formerly British-owned East India Company recently.

Indian Artist M F Husain has recently decided to accept the citizenship of Qatar.

V.V.S.Laxman became the 35th batsmen in the history of Test Matches to accumulate 7000 career runs in Test Matches.

India’s premier international airline, Jet Airways recently announced that it will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg from April 14,2010.

Sachin Tendulkar became the first man ever to score a double century in the 39 years of one-day international cricket.

A prominent Indian hotelier Joginder Sangar has been presented the Community Award in recognition of his outstanding philanthropic work in the UK.

Rajpal Singh has been named the captain of the Indian hockey team for its campaign in the World Cup Hockey event starting on Feb 28.

“My Name is Khan” bollywood film is set to become the first Indian film to hit the Egyptian theaters after a gap of 15 years.

Delhi city of India will host the 12th edition of South Asian Games (SAF Games) in 2012.

Bolivia Northeastern state of India now has four ‘Chief Ministers’, apparently to douse a simmering discontent within the main party in the coalition.

AR Rahman became the first Indian to win solo Grammy awards. Lakhvir Kaur Singh of Indian-origin woman who faced life sentence after being

found guilty of poisoning her former lover to death, using an ancient Indian herb in the first such case in Britain in 128 years.

Delhi Indian city will host the next South Asian Games (SAF Games) in 2012. INDIA has recently signed a civilian nuclear agreement with a country in New

Delhi, similar to one it had signed earlier with seven other countries such as the US, France and Russia. Britain is that country.

India country emerged triumphant at the 11th South Asian Games Women’s football tournament, beating Nepal 3-1 to win the gold medal at the event.

Indian-origin woman Kamla Persad-Bissessar has became the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Trinidad and Tobago parliament, ousting former premier Basdeo Panday from the post.

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has recently decided to recall about one lakh units of its flagship export model to replace a faulty fuel pump part. The name of model Maruti A-Star

Jan 2010:

The Indian MS Swaminathan who was awarded “honoris causa” by the University of Talca, in Chile.

Tata Nano car has selected as the Car of the Year at ICICI Bank-CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards 2010.

Saina Nehwal has been awarded “IBN Indian of the Year Award” in New Delhi recently.

The Delhi High Court of India will uphold its bench order that includes the office of the Chief Justice of India within the scope of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and requires judges to declare their assets.

Scientists of India country are developing an electronic device (e-dog) that will sniff out explosives like RDX which remain undetected by existing security equipments.

Vidya Stokes is the new president of Hockey India. India country will overtake Japan as the world’s third largest economy by

purchasing power Parity (PPP) by 2012 according to a report by global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

India country has the largest number of illiterate adults in the world according to the Education for All-Global Monitoring Report by UNESCO.

Lt-General Vijay Kumar Singh was named as the next Indian Army chief and will take over his new post after incumbent Gen Deepak Kapoor retires on March 31.2010.

Gujarat High Court of India recently has ruled that Hindi is not our National Language.

Sharad Chandra Sinha has been appointed as the second chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), succeeding RV Raju who retired in Janurary, 2010.

Vikram Srivastava is the new Director General of the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), world’s largest para military force.

The new party Jan Kranti Party formed by the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh on his birthday (05-01-2010).

Subhash Chandra Bose Indian Freedom fighter’s Rs 1 lakh promissory note unearthed by an octogenarian (a person whose age is in the eighties) residing in Madhya Pradesh’s Bina town in Sagar district.

A.K. Mattoo has resigned as president of Hockey India due to the allegations made against him during the recent hockey crisis.

Kumar Sangakkara won the man of the series award in the Tri nation Tournament (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh) held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Binoy Job has been appointed as “Director-Media to the Prime Minister of India” recently.

R. L. Bhatia is the new Director General of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

November 2009:

1stMary Keitany and Deriba Merga won the women’s and men’s title in the Delhi half- marathon.

2nd Supreme Court judges, including the chief justice, declared their asset on its official website.3rd Soumya Swaminathan won the world junior girls (U-20) chess title.4th Mary Kom, Kavita won Asian Boxing Golds.

5thCricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score 17,000 runs in ODIs. Sudha Murty sold 20lakh Infosys shares worth RS. 430crore.

6th 10th India-EU summit held in New Delhi.7th Ashok Chavan sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister.

8thVarsities told by UGC to disclose information in public domain. Dalai Lama visited Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh

9th SEBI allowed auction of shares in follow-on offer.10th India, Columbia signed bilateral agreement.11th Cyclone phyan hit Maharashtra cost.12th Air India got RS 2000cr lifeline.13th Govt. put 60 PSUS on divestment roster.

14thIndia finished third in Asian Athletics championships held in china. >Nation’s first aerospace SEZ launched.

15th Sachin Tendulkar completed 20 years in International cricket.16th Rahul Dravid became the 2nd Indian batsman-and 5th overall-to score 11,000 test runs.17th FDI proposals worth RS.1159 Crore cleared by center.18th Subir Gokarn appointed RBI deputy Governer.19th Cabinet gave its nod to RS 7,266cr special package for Bundelkhand.

20thTRAI fixed mobile porting charge. Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to cross 30,000 runs in international cricket.

21st Railway launched Jan Ahaar for passenger at affordable price.22nd National cadet corps day marked. Twin blasts rocked Assam.>PM Singh began his us trip.23rd First night trial of agni-II conducted.24th Babari Action taken report tabled in parliament.

25thBill banning exit polls passed in RS. President Patil became the first woman head of state to fly in a fighter jet.

26th India, Finland sign 3 pacts to boost cooperation in science and technology.

27thFrance became the 2nd nation to fully operationally inter-country nuclear agreement with India.

28th India, Canada reached a civil nuclear agreement.

29thGautam Gambhir adjudged seat international cricketer of the year 2008-09. Radiation leak at kaiga nuclear plant, Karnataka, left 55 sick.

30th Probe ordered into kaiga leak; Sabotage suspected.

October 2009:

Major Floods in Andhra and Karnataka (4th October 2009): -Five days of torrential rain have left at least 205 people dead and 750,000 displaced in southern India, authorities said. Floods submerged villages, severed transport and communication links and raised fears of disease spreading in relief camps. Large parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states – which weeks ago were suffering a severe drought – have been inundated. Air force helicopters dropped food and drinking water packages to hundreds of cut-off villages. The flooding worsened after authorities released water from rain-swollen reservoirs to prevent them from bursting their banks.

Dolphin is national aquatic animal (5th October 2009): -Dolphin is now India’s national aquatic animal. The decision was taken following a suggestion by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the new status for the dolphin would help save the rare freshwater species from disappearing from the country’s aqua map.

October 6, 2009: One-third of world’s child brides from India says a UNICEF Report:-As per a latest UNICEF report more than one third of the world’s child brides are from India. Some facts:-Nearly 25 million women in India were married in the year 2007 by the age of Children in India, Nepal and Pakistan may be engaged or even married before they turned. Despite rising literacy levels and a ban on child marriage, tradition and religious practices are keeping the custom alive in India, as well as in Nepal and Pakistan. More than 50% of world’s child brides are in south Asia. This leaves children beyond the reach and protection of state services and unable to attend school or access basic healthcare. A 44 million, or 13 percent of all children in south Asia, are engaged in labour, with more than half in India.

US announce $100,000 aid for India’s flood victims (8th October 2009) :- Heavy rain and floods have inundated many parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra killing over 200 people and leaving millions homeless. The US announced $100,000 aid for the victims of recent floods in parts of southern and western India.’The heart-breaking personal loss, the destruction of homes and property, and the loss of cattle and crops have been devastating,’ US ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said while announcing the aid.

India can hold 2010 Games: CWG Officials (10th October 2009)- The Commonwealth Games Federation officials have expressed buoyancy over India’s capability to host the 2010 event, after completing the second day of inspection.Visiting shooting range in Tughlaqabad, Jamia Milia complex, the Rugby 7s facility in Delhi University and Siri Fort Complex where the badminton event is scheduled to take place, the delegates were convinced that the country could hold ‘great’ Games in 2010. In the press release released by the committee, Australia’s Don Stockins has been quoted as saying “So far it’s good. The block that we visited in the Games Village was good; if all end up like that it will be great. Delhi will be a great host and it is a very pretty city.” Jamaican Olympic Association Vice-President Donald Anderson has also expressed confidence in India’s facility to host the games next year.

Test fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile(12th October 27, 2009): – India successfully test fired the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile twice from a test range in Orissa, officials said. The missiles were fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district, some 230 km from state capital Bhubaneswar first at 10.28 a.m. and then again five minutes later at 10.33 a.m.The tests were described as part of a “user trial”.

Two naval ships tracked and monitored both the missiles hitting the targets accurately. All the radars and other sensors along the east coast monitored the missiles’ trajectory parameters. The missiles have a striking range of about 350 km.Prithvi is India’s first indigenously built ballistic missile. It is one of five missiles being developed under India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).Two versions of the missiles have already been deployed with the Army and the Air Force. According to defense officials in the national capital, Prithvi missile has the capability to carry 500-kg of warhead.

A.R.Rahman wins Ghent Award (23rd October 2009):- Oscar winner musician A. R. Rahman’s ‘Jai ho’ has again won laurels at prestigious World Soundtrack Academy awards in Ghent (Belgium).This song from SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE won “best original song written for film” category at the ninth World Soundtrack Awards announced at Ghent.

September 2009:

Andhra CM YSR died in a chopper crash (3rd September 2009)-The Dynamic Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is no more. Mr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy was on his way to Chittoor from Hyderabad in a Helicopter. After sometime in flight, the chopper went missing in the dense forest area of Nallamalalla hill range. A massive hunt for the missing aircraft was launched. Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from Bangalore were involved in finding about the helicopter and the missing YSR. After a day, the missing chopper was found in a mangled state along with five burnt bodies. About 100 people died of shock after hearing the news of YSR’s death.Almost all the state ministers, about 22 MPs and several Congress legislators have pitched for Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to be the next CM of Andhra Pradesh. The Congress meanwhile is waiting for the euphoria to settle before deciding

Problems in BJP party (4th September 2009)-The BJP seems to be in the docks after the Lok Sabha defeat. BJP has expelled Jaswant Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni, Khanduri from the party. Also BJP has decided to break ties with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana. BJP president Rajnath Singh also asked senior Rajasthan leader Vasundhara Raje to resign as leader of opposition. In the party meet it has been decided that Advani will resign as party opposition leader and will not be primeministerial candidate for the next election. Seems like a lot of “Manthan” or churning within the party.

India wins Compaq Cup 2009 (14th September 2009):- India wins the Compaq Cup tri-series after defeating Sri Lanka in a nail biting encounter. Chasing a

mammoth total, Sri Lankan showed brave face and reduced the defeat margin. After showing good batting performance, Indian was poor at fielding and bowling. They dropped couple of easy catches and missed run out chances. Finally managed to win by 46 runs.

Earthquake in North Eastern Region of India (21th September 2009)-An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale felt by people in parts of Assam, other north-eastern states of India, West Bengal and neighboring Bhutan Monday afternoon causing damage to various properties in both the countries. The duration of this earthquake was around 5 seconds. The epicenter was plotted in Munggar in Bhutan. Munggar, is located along the India-Bhutan border, 125 km northwest of Guwahati where the abnormal movement of earthquake was observed.

Six European satellites launched by India (23th September 2009)-India successfully launched a cluster of six European micro-satellites into low-earth orbit after deploying its 960 kg remote sensing satellite Oceansat-2 in the polar sun-synchronous orbit. Of the six micro-satellites, four are from Germany and one each from Switzerland and Turkey, with a combined weight of 20 kg. The first four tiny spacecraft, named Cubsats, are educational satellites from European universities weighing around 1 kg and developed to perform technology demonstration in space. The other two spacecrafts are named Rubin-9.1 and Rubin-9.2 weighing 8 kg each, are primarily used for the automatic identification system for maritime applications.

Chandrayaan-1 Not A Failure, Finds Water on Moon (24th September 2009)-India’s first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has found evidence of large quantities of water on the lunar surface, before the project was terminated by ISRO. This discovery is credited to the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an imaging spectrometer, was one of the 11 instruments on board Chandrayaan-I. M3 was aimed at providing the first mineral map of the entire lunar surface. Lunar scientist’s debate for possibility of water repositories came to an end.

Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first unmanned lunar probe which was launched by ISRO on 22 October 2008. After suffering from several technical issues including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding, Chandrayaan stopped sending radio signals on 29 August 2009 shortly after which, the ISRO officially declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years but the mission achieved 95 per cent of its planned objectives.

Air India Strike (29th September 2009)-Air India cancels over 20 flights, pilots agitation continues. With the agitation by Air India Executive pilots entering the fourth day, the airlines cancelled over 20 flights, including 15 from the national capital, and suspended bookings for the next 15 days.Talks between the management and the striking Executive pilots failed to break the

deadlock over the issue of cut in perks. The agitation by the pilots, who are protesting against the cut in the Productivity Linked Incentives (PIL), is likely to intensify as the executive pilots working with the airlines before its merger also joined them.

August 2009:

Bhindra honored with Rajiv Gandhi Award (20th August 2009)-India’s first :- Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Katrina Kaif and other young achievers were felicitated with prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Award.

Indian Navy jet crashes, pilot feared dead (21th August 2009):- An Indian Navy fighter jet crashed into the Arabian Sea and the pilot is presumed dead. The jet, a British-made Sea Harrier, plummeted into the sea 15 kilometers off Goa’s coast. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Mumbai TV actress arrested for abusing minor (22th August 2009)-A Mumbai actress has been arrested for allegedly abusing her 10-year-old maid. The TV actress, Urvashi Dhaanorkar who reportedly brought the minor girl to Mumbai in the pretext of adoption and education and kept her captive and tortured her. She had received burns and injuries. The girl told reporters that she was roughed up by the actresses. The case came to light when one of the neighbours found the girl in a bad condition and decided to go to the police. The police who rescued the girl from the Raheja Classic Society in Andheri arrested the actress under the Child Abuse Act.

July 2009:

Sania & Sohrab exchange rings amid tight security (10th July 2009): – The Tennis star Sania Mirza exchanged rings with her childhood friend, Sohrab Mirza. The 22-year-old Hyderabad girl wore the ring that signified her engagement with 23 year old MBA Student Sohrab Mirza. The ceremony was graced by biggies like badminton player P Gopichand, Union Minister of State for Human Resource D Purandareswari, her husband and legislator D

Venkateshawara Rao, Telugu film actor Vishnu and industrialist G V K Reddy. There was a tight security provided for the event nearly 50 policemen surrounded the Taj hotel.

Bill Gates to receive Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (23th July 2009): -Bill Gates has received the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2003, the foundation launched Avahan, a 10-year initiative to support India’s efforts to reduce the spread of HIV.

PM launches India’s first nuclear submarine (26th July 2009)-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur launched the country’s first nuclear powered attack submarine, INS Arihant in Vishakhapatnam. The INS Arihant will be commissioned in the Indian Navy after extensive outfitting and sea trials. It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country. Its length is 112-metre-long. India has achieved a ‘historic milestone in the country’s defence preparedness’ with the launch of the submarine.

Sania Mirza clinches Lexington Challenger title (27th July 2009): – Sania Mirza defeated top-seed Frenchwoman Julie Coin 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to lift the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Lexington Challenger title. With this win, she climbed up three places in the latest WTA singles rankings. She stands in the 80th place now. After the 2003 tournament, this was only the second Challenger title for her

Rajmata Gayatri Devi laid to rest (28th July 2009)-Rajmata Gayatri Devi passed away after a prolonged illness at the age of 90. The people of the city gave their daily routines a miss to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s last journey. They grieved the fact that the only person who really cared about their grievances had passed away. The Queen was cremated with State Honours and the event was graced by the presence of the Rajasthan Governor Shailendra Kumar Singh and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, along with several members of the State Cabinet.

Businessman buys Gandhi’s home, plans for museum (30th July 2009)-Mahatma Gandhi’s Johannesburg house, has been bought by a Bandra businessman, Pradeep Bhavnani for about Rs 2.25 crore on July 30. Mahatma Gandhi lived in this house from 1908 for three years while he fought against the racial discrimination in South Africa as a lawyer. The house that was designed by artist Hermann Kallenbach is called ‘The Kraal’. Pradeep

Bhavnani, who is senior BJP leader L K Advani’s nephew and a self-professed Gandhian is planning to turn it into a museum. After buying the house, he intends to buy 34 souvenirs and photographs from the Aditya Birla Group to install them in the museum. After inaugurating the museum on Oct 2, Gandhi’s birth anniversary, it will be handed over to Government of India on the same day.

Jun 2009:

Dream Houses / Mumbai Flats on rent for Rs. 800/- (3rd June 2009)- The common people of Mumbai may now dream of affordable homes. An ambitious low-cost housing programme promises to provide flats on rent for as less as Rs 800. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) announced that they are going to construct 133,000 flats near the city. The MMRDA, in collaboration with real estate giant HDIL, will construct the flats on 525 acres in Virar suburb in Thane district north of Mumbai. The project aims to house around 2 lakh people in the flats. The rent for the flats will range from Rs 800 to Rs 1,500 per month. Each flat measures 160 sq ft and will be given on lease for a period of five years. The Metropolitan Commissioner told that 90,000 (flats) are made for free-sale components and 43,000 are purely rental housing tenements of 160 sq feet each. Only people with a minimum monthly income of Rs 5,000 will be eligible to apply for houses. Applicants should preferably be residing in Maharashtra but it isn’t a compulsory requirement. The MMRDA also announced eight other low-cost housing projects in the city to house 5 lakh families in the next few years. The authority will earn Rs 5,000 crore in rent and builders will benefit as they would be allowed to construct taller buildings with more flats.

Family donates their dead son’s organs to 7 people (9th June 2009)-A family in Andhra Pradesh mourning the loss of their 19-year-old member Ganpati in a road accident has ensured his legacy by donating his organs and transforming the lives of seven people. Johnson, a six-year-old boy, was suffering from the dangerous blue baby syndrome but now a critical heart surgery has ensured he would live healthily. It’s not just Johnson but six other people, too, who have received vital organs including the kidneys and liver donated from Ganapati’s body. Ganapati had met with an accident and was brought to hospital brain dead. Doctors counselled with the family. Though it wasn’t an easy decision for Ganapati’s family to donate his organs, Ganapati’s elder brother Pradeep went ahead, believing that his brother will live on by this deed. Ganapati’s family is unaware of the identities of any of

the seven people who have benefited from his organs. But they do find solace in the thought that Ganapati continues to live on.

Air Force AN-32 aircraft Crash (10th June 2009)- Indian Air Force, Army and paramilitary forces made a search for missing Air Force AN-32 aircraft which crashed over Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF began aerial reconnaissance to trace the transport aircraft while Army and paramilitary forces too have been pressed into the search operation. There were 13 people on board including six IAF officers and seven Army personnel and all of them are feared dead. The aircraft had taken off from Machuka in Arunachal Pradesh on a supply sortie and was on its way to Mohanbari in Assam when it went off radar due to bad weather and crashed. The last radio contact with the missing aircraft was 35 miles from Machuka. Top-level sources in IAF say that the flying crew of the AN-32 was highly experienced and bad weather is suspected to be the reason for the crash.

India knocked out of World T20 (15th June 2009): – Defending champion India was knocked out of the World Twenty20 title race after a three-run defeat at the hands of an inspired England in the Super Eight match. Chasing a modest victory target of 154, India’s batting order crumbled when it mattered most and the defending champions could manage only 150 for five.

Government to make class X examination optional (25th June 2009)-Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) has suggested that the government may make class X examination optional for students. He said that the examination system would be reformed in accordance with the National Curriculum framework-2005. This will permit students to continue in the same school. Schools may take an internal assessment test instead. This he says, will be done in 100 days.

Sushil Kumar wins gold medal in wrestling (28th June 2009): – Sushil Kumar won the gold medal in style, after emerging the champion in the 66 kg freestyle category. India won two gold, one silver and two bronze medals, accounting for a total of five medals. Rahul Balasaheb secured the gold medal in the 55 kg freestyle category. In 120 Kg freestyle category, Rajiv Tomar secured the silver medal, Ravinder Singh and Ramesh Kumar won the bronze in the 60 kg Greco Roman in 74 kg freestyle categories respectively.

India’s first sea bridge (30th June 2009)-The Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the Bandra Worli sea link in Mumbai. The 5.6 kilometers long cable-stayed bridge has been designed to allow for speedy road travel between Bandra and Worli. It costs Rs. 50 to take a trip on the link, and will cost Rs. 75 for a round trip. It would be nothing compared to the Rs 100 crore per year that the link will save in the vehicle operating cost alone. The link is equipped for traffic monitoring, emergency support and an automated toll system. The construction of the sea link would save people’s time.

Union minister threatens HC judge to grant bail (30th June 2009)- R Regupathi, a Madras High Court judge has threatened to write to the central government and the prime minister about a Union Minister seeking to influence him to release a medical student petitioner and his father, a doctor on anticipatory bail. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked both of them in connection with a forged mark sheet case.

May 2009:

Brasa appointed Indian men’s hockey coach ( 1st May 2009)- Spain’s master coach Jose Brasa has been appointed as the new chief coach of the Indian men’s hockey team. Pravir Krishna, the Joint Secretary of Union Ministry of Sports said “Brasa will soon join the Indian men’s hockey team as the chief coach”. He also informed that Brasa was handed a two-year contract, but didn’t rule out the chances of his agreement being extended till the 2012 London Olympics. The Spaniard put forth a list of demands, including a free hand in running the team, the need for technology and a good physiotherapist, and a support staff of 14 people, including two from Spain. The Sports Ministry accepted his demands. The official also informed that Brasa would be coming to India early next week to formally take charge of his duties.

River Ganga still reels under Pollution (4th May 2009)- The river Ganga remains highly polluted even after being declared the ‘National River’ by the Central Government. Filled with chemical wastes, sewage and even the remains of human and animal corpses, it poses major health risks to around 400 million people living by its side and all others who benefit from it. The Ganga also suffers from another major problem called silting which results into chocking of its flow. People believe that constructing dams on the Ganga could be the cause of low water level in the river. The residents say no steps have been taken to improve the condition of the Ganga. The condition of the Ganga is deteriorating by the day. There is more sand in it. Though it is

declared a ‘National River’, no efforts are being made to clean it. If water is released from the dam, then only the water level will increase in the river. Efforts have always made to clean up the Ganga since a long time but none have been proved successful.

UPSC results: Women on top, 791 succeeded (5th May 2009)-The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam results for the year 2008 were announced. A higher number of women have topped these numbers. The top three ranks have been grabbed by women for the first time. The Rank 1 holder, 30-year-old Shubhra Saxena from Ghaziabad has become the talk of the country. She told the media that the risk of quitting her job to serve the rural masses was worth it.

Largest ever telescope launched from French Guiana ( May 15 2009)- Ariane 5 rocket, the world’s largest telescope was launched on May 15 from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana to investigate the origins of the universe. The Herschel telescope was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) at a cost of 1.1 billion euros ($1.49 billion). The main objective of the telescope is to determine how the stars and galaxies are formed in the universe. The Physicist Albrecht Poglitsch, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, worked on the development of Herschel’s instruments. The stars are comprised of gas and dust, a mix that makes it impossible to see into the star itself with light. Herschel’s strength is to enable a look into the gas-dust clouds. The primary mirror of the Herschel telescope is 3.5 meters in diameter, more than four times larger than those of previous infrared space telescopes and almost one and a half times larger than the Hubble space telescope. Herschel will tap into previously unexplored wavelengths and examine phenomena that had been out of reach for other observatories. The telescope will begin to carry out its three-and-a-half-year mission in about a month.

Congress’ victory, credit to Sonia’s inner voice (18th May 2009)- The amazing victory of the Congress Party and the pathetic defeat of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls 2009 has come as a surprise. Nobody expected that the Congress will bag over 200 seats on its own and cross 260 with its allies. All political Pundits and Sephologists were predicting highly fractured result on 16 May 2009, the day of counting. But May 16 became a ‘black Saturday’ for the Bharatiya Janata Party with an astonishing victory for the Congress. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi once again made it clear that she is not in race for the PM post of India. Ms Gandhi had made her point clear that Manmohan Singh is the Prime Ministerial candidate of Congress. This cleared a long

standing doubt in the minds of many Indians who are not happy to see a foreigner as India’s Prime Minister. This worked and converted into votes.

Oz Racial attack: AP student battling for life ( 28th May 2009)- Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student was attacked by teenagers in Australia is battling for life after he and three of his friends from Andhra Pradesh were attacked on May 26. Doctors are not ‘very optimistic’ about chances of his recovery. Shravan was critically injured after one of the boys attacked him with a screwdriver. The other three identified as A Krian, Subhash and Sandip escaped with minor injuries. The attackers abused the Indian students and asked them to leave Australia. While Shravan is still in hospital, the other three moved out of the house. This is the second attack on Indian students in a week. Meanwhile there are reports that the house where Shravan and his friends were staying is apparently robbed by some miscreant.

April 2009:

Parents protest fee hike in schools (April 2009)-Hundreds of parents opposing the fee hike in schools protested at various places in Delhi and demanded its immediate rollback. The parents association of Guru Nanak Public School staged a demonstration and criticized the school authorities over the fee hike. All India Parents Association (AIPA) also extended its support to the demonstration. The children also shouted slogans from the classrooms. The matter of fee hike has been challenged in the Delhi High Court. The court would hear the case on April 29.

India seals historic win in NZ after 41yrs (7th April 2009): – Though rain stopped India from winning the third and final test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington, it sealed the historic 1-0 series victory on Apr 7 after 41 years. The last time India won a series in New Zealand was under the captaincy of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi in 1967-68. India had won the first Test in Hamilton by 10 wickets and drew the second Test in Napier.

Satyam bidding Completed: Tech Mahindra wins bidding (13th April 2009)- In the Satyam Computers bidding process, three huge companies namely Tech Mahindra, Engineering L&T, and Wilbur Ross had participated. Tech Mahindra has won in the Satyam bid by paying Rs. 1757 crore and now has 31% stake in Satyam. Tech Mahindra will pay Rs 58 per share; L&T had offered to pay of 49 Rs per share and so lost out.

Girl dies due to asthma in Delhi School (22nd April 2009)-Aakriti Bhatia of class 12 student of the Modern School in Vasant Vihar of Delhi died due to an

asthma attack. Her parent’s alleged negligence by the school resulting in her death. It seems while taking Aakriti to hospital the school authorities removed the oxygen provided to her, also instead of calling an ambulance they waited for Akriti’s father’s car to take her to hospital, which could have lead to the death.

Book on Tendulkar released (24th April 2009)- A book, titled ‘If Cricket Is a Religion, Sachin is God’ was released on Sachin’s 36th birthday. The authors of the book are Vijay Santhanam and Shyam Balasubramaniam who are graduates of IIM (Ahmedabad). They believe that Tendulkar is one of the greatest sportspersons of our times and surely the finest cricketer of our times. The most remarkable thing about Tendulkar is the way he has handled himself and his fame right from his early teens, they feel.

BCCI nominates Gambhir, Jhulan for Arjuna award (30th April 2009)- The Board of Control for Cricket in India has recommended batman Gautam Gambhir and women’s team captain Jhulan Gosawmi for the esteemed sports award, the Arjuna Award.Gambhir, opener has scored 1,579 test runs at an average of 75.19, and 1,494 runs at 46.38 in ODIs. Jhulan won the ICC Women Cricketer of the Year Award in 2007.

March 2009:

Modi minister held in post Godhra riot case (March 2009)- As prime ministerial candidate L K Advani and chief minister Narendra Modi on 27/3/09 launched the BJP’s campaign at the Kankaria lakefront, a few kilometres away, in Gandhinagar, Maya Kodnani, a minister in Modi’s cabinet, was arrested in one of the post-Godhra riot cases of 2002.Minister of state for women and child welfare and higher education, Kodnani was arrested after the Gujarat high court cancelled her anticipatory bail on Friday in the Naroda Patia and Naroda Gam riots case. A trained gynaecologist, she resigned from the ministry and surrendered before the SC-appointed Special Investigation Team in Gandhinagar with VHP leader Jaideep Patel.

Varun guilty; EC asks BJP not to field Varun (March 2009)- The Election Commission has found the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Varun Gandhi guilty of making remarks against Muslims in an election rally in Pilibit and in the wake, violating polls laws. The EC has also declared that the CD was not doctored and said that it will initiate criminal proceedings against him.

India win Hamilton Test, a win in NZ after 33 years (21st March 2009): – Dominant India defeated New Zealand by 10 wickets in the 1st Test to take 1-0 lead. This is India’s first Test win in New Zealand since 1976. India wrapped up New Zealand’s second innings on 279 with the hosts giving a 38-run lead in the 1st Test. Harbhajan Singh took six wickets for his side.